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The Canadian Statesman, Bowmanvillc, July 22,1998 Pace 4 ®1)t Canadian statesman ^ Former Publishers and Partners Rev. John M. Cliniie and W. R. Climic 1854 -1878 M. A. James, 1878 - 1935 • Norman S. B. James, 1919 -1929 G. Elena James, 1929 - 1947 • Dr. George VV. James, 1919 -1957 Produced weekly by James Publishing Company Limited Also Publishers of The Clarington! Court ice Independent P.O. Box 190, 62 King St. W., Bowmanvillc, Ontario L1C 3K9 Tel: 905-623-3303 HOURS: Monday to Friday 9:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. Fax: 905-623-6161 Internet - statesman@ocna.org Publications Mail Registration No. 07637 Assoc. Publisher - Rick James Editor-Peter Parrott For 144 Years, Our First Concern Has Been Our Community Publisher - John M. James Plant Manager - Rick Patterson Ad. Manager - Brian G. Purdy Production Supervisor - Ralph Rozema, Suzanne Bennett, Tim Bowers, Kevin Britton, Sharon Cole, Laurens Kaldeway, Barb Patterson, Tyler Sellick, Jim Snoek, James Stephenson, Vance Sutherland, Jim Tuuramo Advertising Editorial Laverne Morrison Brad Kelly, Lorraine Manfredo, Jennifer Stone Office Supervisor-Angela Luscher, Junin Hodge, Grace McGregor, Nancy Pleasance-Sturman, Marilyn Rutherford, Libby Smithson Editorials Travel Clarington It's time to reveal to our readers a great vacation spot we know about where the folks arc friendly, the accommodations accommodations are first-class and driving conditions can't get any easier. You may have heard of it. The place is Clarington. We live here. There's certainly a lot to be said for a vacation that involves a complete change of scenery. Indeed, that's the traditional idea of a summer respite. However, much is available right here, in our own backyard. Visitors from all over the world are coming to Clarington to enjoy attractions such as our parks, marinas, marinas, hiking trails, historic downtowns, zoos, shops, galleries, galleries, farms, studios, museums, auto racing, sports, and much more. Perhaps it's time for those of us who live here to play tourist for a few days and enjoy the sights. We won't single out any particular tourist destinations in this article. But, further information on local attractions attractions and events is available from the tourist information centre on Liberty Street S., in Bowmanvillc. (Right beside Highway 401 and across from the Howard Johnson Hotel.) Remember, you don't have to be a few thousand miles from home to make use of the tourism office. In addition, it will offer a listing of attractions a little beyond the Clarington boundaries, but still within a day's drive. You can also read The Statesman and The Independent for information on special events and attractions. In addition, if you have access to the Internet, you can use the worldwide web to check out things to do and see. Many net surfers are constantly surprised to discover discover new and exciting facts about their community by linking up with local web sites. Seeing the local sights has the advantage of contributing contributing to the local economy and getting a better understanding understanding of this interesting community in which we live. Best of all, you're never far from the comfortable accommodation accommodation provided by your own home. When you make your travel plans for summer vacation, vacation, why not consider Clarington one of your destinations? destinations? Best of all, the local attractions are ones you can return to lime and time again. The Hunting Forming a committee to sort out concerns over hunting hunting in the Kendal area will work quite well for the responsible and law-abiding hunters. ; Unfortunately, such hunters are not the cause of the problems reported to Clarington Council by local residents. residents. It's a minority who are responsible for the conflicts conflicts that have been cited between land-owners and hunters. Responsible hunters would not, for example, trespass on private lands. So, the committee in question can hold meetings and come up with all sorts of good guidelines to govern the sport in Clarington. But it's no guarantee that a small minority will not ignore the guidelines. Perhaps that's one reason why some citizens have argued that hunting should be banned outright in any area south of the Eighth Concession. But, even that move would not entirely solve the problem. Hunters who flout the rules accepted by the majority of their law-abiding fellow-sportsmen would be just as likely to ignore rules pertaining to a full ban on hunting in the area south of the Eighth Concession. Dangerous hunting practices arc likely to be a chronic chronic problem in rural communities, especially as the population population of Clarington climbs. Perhaps the population of Clarington has reached the point where hunting is no longer compatible with the increasingly urbanized lifestyle we are seeing. However, before new laws are introduced, it's not unreasonable to suggest that we first look at the existing laws and sec if they are sufficient. In the case of conflicts between land-owners and hunters the reasonable course of action would be to enforce existing rules pertaining to hunting and trespassing trespassing and perhaps offer a program of education for any who may not know the rules. Highway 407 Coming Highway 407 has received all the environmental approvals necessary to bring it into Durham Region. The latest stretch of highway to receive approval extends from Markham Rd. to the Brock Rd„ Highway 7 area in Pickering. And, although the construction schedule has not been announced, you can expect work on extending the highway highway as far as Durham Region will be under way within a few years, if not sooner. This, of course, should serve as a wake-up call for Clarington. It's still not clear exactly where the highway will go when it hits our municipality. Senior levels of government have consistently claimed that the goal was to bring the highway across Durham Region, ending at the Highway 115/35 junction. Many residents of northern and central Clarington have argued against that move, pointing out that the new freeway freeway would split up Clarington's rural hinterland and open the door for rapid commercial development along the freeway corridor. In other words, the highway can be seen as launching the next tier of development in Clarington. It could mean the start of full-scale growth beyond the lakcl'ront communities of Newcastle, Bowmanvillc and Courlice, Clarington's elected officials arc on record as supporting supporting Highway 407, but only as far as the western boundary of Clarington. Their alternative has heen to provide a major nflrlh/south artery just east of Courlice which would channel traffic north to Highway 407. Under this plan, the controversial highway wouldn't traverse traverse the heart of Clarington. But, as recently as Monday, the Durham Region was noting that the highway will link with 35/115. If this municipality doesn't want the freeway to bisect the town, action must be taken immediately to secure a promise from Queen's Park that Clarington is not in the path of Highway 407. Letters to the Editor Take More Pride in Historic Downtown Dear Editor: The Municipality of Clarington has fast developed a "reputation" for rapid growth and a very acceptable living environment just minutes along the 401 from Toronto. Kudos to those responsible for marketing our community. Shame, however on those who continue to fail to take pride in the 'showpiece' of Clarington - HISTORIC DOWNTOWN BOW- MANVILLE. The streets (sidewalks, and road surfaces)' are ^ filthy, certain store fronts unkempt, flowers and shrubs non-existent or pathetic wherever they exist - generally an eyesore. eyesore. Like many others, I visit places like Unionville, Stouffville and even our neighbour to the East, Port Hope and find it always to be a pleasurable experience. experience. Can we not appeal to our residents, our retailers, our business people and council to stop squandering opportunities to attract visitors to quality events and attractions in a quality setting? Yours truly, N.A. Weaver, Bowmanville Editor's Note - We thought the merchants in the historic downtown core had been doing a good job in beautifying the downtown with planters, benches, waste receptacles, historic signage and other efforts. Your letter certainly offers a different perspective. Or, perhaps your comments comments apply to areas not part of the BIA. In any event, a word to the wise should suffice. Dear Editor: We, at Pinewood Centre, welcome and applaud Mayor Diane Hamre's comments regarding the call for community community action on the "War on Drugs" (June 24th, edition). edition). Our office, located at 200 King St. E., Bowmanville is dedicated to helping individuals and their family members with alcohol, drug and gam bling related issues. Pinewood Centre is actively involved with the high schools throughout Clarington and has participated participated in educational events with various agencies in the area, while continuing to counsel, treat and, if necessary, refer individuals individuals to residential treatment centres. We would welcome the opportunity to work with Mayor Hamre and the Durham Region Health Department to help educate educate our youth to the perils of substance abuse and, render treatment services to those individuals who have an addiction problem or concern. Please do not hesitate to call us at (905) 697-2747. Sincerely, Lauren Porteous, Chris Sen, Addiction Counsellors PARK 'N' RIDE -- There might be a move afoot to re-open an abandoned abandoned park on Hwy 401 right next to the new Esso Service Centre west of Ncwtonville. Apparently, the land has a perfectly good system of roads running through it and lots of green space for recreation. Councillor John Mutton was encouraged by Mayor Diane Hamre when he raised the idea at a recent council meeting. meeting. A pleasant park there could prove to' be an ideal introduction to Clarington for tourists just passing through town. SIGN OF THE TIMES -- Statesman staff admit that they aren't always the infallible infallible experts they should be when it comes to proper grammar and punctuation. However, even we can't resist laughing out loud at a traffic sign in an unnamed north Clarington village that seems to advise kids (not adults) to smarten up at the wheel as they head into town. "Drive Carefully, Children" the sign says. And Watch for Seniors. PAINTING THE TOWN -- We just heard that visitors arriving arriving to downtown Bowmanville from the west may see the beginnings beginnings of a giant wall mural in the next couple of weeks. The subject matter for this public art is reported to be a bustling street scene from Clarington around the turn of the century. Thoughts Unlimited ; by Rick James Start Me Up Two weeks ago I wrote a column about the recent release of Windows '98 and all the problems that were sure to be associated with it. Sure enough, there are lots of bugs -- enough bugs that a number of Internet Service Providers are suing Microsoft for damages. damages. Despite the errors and the limited number of improvements to Windows, Microsoft's share price hit and record high last week and sales arc better than expected of the upgrade. I even took some heat from PC users about the column saying the Macintosh is "Mickey Mouse" compared to Windows. That's fine, I'll accept anything that's compared to Disney. At a recent computer expo (COMDEX), Bill Gates created his own heat by comparing the computer industry with the auto industry when he stated, "If car manufacturers had kept up with technology like the computer industry has, we would all be driving twenty-live dollar cars that got one-thousand miles to the gallon." In response to Bill's comments, the big auto makers issued a press release stating, "If GM had developed technology like Microsoft, we would all be driving cars with the following characteristics: 1. For no reason whatsoever, your car would crash twice a day. 2. Every time they repainted the lines on the road you would have to buy a new car. 3. Occasionally, your car would die on the freeway for no reason, and you would just accept this, restart, and drive on. 4. Occasionally, executing a manner such as a left turn, would cause your car to shut down and refuse to restart, in which case you would have to reinstall the engine. 5. Only one person at a time could use the car, unless you bought "Car95" or "CarNT." But then you would have to buy more scats. 6. (This is my favourite) Macintosh would make a car that was powered by the sun, reliable, live times as fast, and twice as easy to drive, but would only run on five percent of the roads. 7. The oil, water temperature, and alternator warning lights would be replaced by a single "general car default" warning light, . 8, You'd press the "start" button to shut off the engine. 9. The airbag system would say "Are you sure?" before going off. 10.Occasionally for no reason whatsoever, your car would lock you out and refuse to let you in until you simultaneously lifted the door handle, turned the key, and grabbed hold of the radio antenna, 11. GM would require all car buyers to also purchase a deluxe set of Rand McNally road maps (now a GM subsidiary), even though they neither need nor want them. Attempting to delete this option would immediately cause the car's performance to diminish by fifty percent or more, Moreover, GM would become a target for investigation by the Justice Department, 12, Every time GM introduced a new model, car buyers would have to learn how to drive all over again because none of the controls would operate in the same manner as the old car. 13. New scats would force everyone to have the same size butt. Quit Phoning Me at Home Also on my list of things that really 'annoy me is the number of phone calls I get at home for products I didn't ask for and really don't want. So starting this week, a new answering machine is going to screen all my calls. It's a drastic step, but after receiving a call for charitable donations on Sunday at 6 p.m., the camel's back is broken. To be sure we don't miss anything important, I'm considering using a number of greetings. Who knows when Bill Gates might call. For example... 1. Hi. Now you say something. 2. Hello. I am Rick's answering machine. What arc you? 3. Hi! Rick's answering machine is broken. This is his refrigerator. refrigerator. Please speak very slowly, and I'll stick your message to myself with one of these magnets. 4. Hello, this is Rick's microwave. His answering machine just eloped with his tape deck, so I'm stuck with taking his calls. Say, if you want anything cooked while you leave your message, message, just hold it up to the phone. 5. This is Rick: If you arc the phone company, I already sent the money. If you arc my parents, please send money. If you arc my financial aid institution, you didn't lend me enough money. If you arc my friends, you owe me money. If you arc a good- looking female, don't worry, I have plenty of money. 6. This is not an answering machine - this is a telepathic thought recording device. After the tone, think about your name, your' reason for calling and a number where I can reach you, and I'll think about returning your call, 7. Hi, this is Rick, I'm sorry I can't answer the phone right now. Leave a message, and then wait by your phone until I call you back. After reviewing the choices, I think the most appropriate greeting for me will be... 8. Hello, you arc talking to a machine, I am capable of receiving messages. My owners do not need siding, windows, or a hot tub, and their carpels are clean. They give to charity through their office, do not need their picture taken, and don't want to change long distance carriers, If you're still with me, leave your name and number and they will gel back to you. What a Surprise My dislike for Bill Gates just trenched itself deeper when I ran Microsoft Word's spell checking option through this column, Guess what word is stopped on? It says the word "Internet" is not in its dictionary. dictionary. That must be one of the improvements in Windows '98,